Chapter 457 — Everything Arranged Down to the Last Detail

Gao Yang sighed; of course he understood what Hetty meant. "I permit them to go into business and open factories after passing assessment—that is already avoiding waste as much as possible, and even this carries no small hidden risk. Weighing the risks against the expected gains, this line cannot be moved. Besides, I haven't locked it all shut—the second and third generations of old noble descendants, and the collateral branches not born of the legitimate line, may, after assessment and observation, enjoy the same rights as ordinary citizens."

Here he paused, then continued: "Of course, this will still lose us some talent, and it is hardly fair to them—but it is a necessary price. Destroying the old nobles' armies on the battlefield is easy, but if they become part of the Cecil system, rooting them out afterward becomes a tremendous problem."

Hetty bowed her head deeply: "Yes, I understand."

Gao Che mused a moment, then added: "This, then: if you truly find among the Southern March nobles and their direct children someone of exceptional merit whom you approve of, you may report them to me. I will personally organize the assessment and give it due consideration."

Then he let out a breath: "Next, let us go see our real guests."

In a small but neat and comfortable reception room not far from the meeting area, Andrew Leslie and Ropenny Gran were quietly awaiting the Duke's arrival.

"This day came quickly, did it not?" Viscount Andrew raised his black tea and smiled in salute to the viscountess beside him. "It feels like only yesterday—Cecil was a dying surname last year, and today they already reign over the Southern March."

Ropenny Gran offered a smile with little warmth in it: "I have waited far more than a year or two, Lord Viscount."

"...You are a lady worthy of admiration. You have conviction, and a will more steadfast than mine," Viscount Andrew said after a moment's silence. His manner was sincere, and then a little self-mocking. "Not like me. At the beginning, I was merely investing in a piece of business."

"Investing?" Ropenny looked at the pale man—said to be frail from overconsumption of magic potions—with some curiosity. She did not know much of this part of his past. "What sort of investment?"

"An investment in the Duke of Cecil," Andrew Leslie said softly, his gaze fixed ahead. "It was the boldest piece of business I have ever done in my life..."

"And now Gao Yang is our sovereign," Ropenny Gran said, watching Viscount Andrew quietly. "Do you consider this investment a profit?"

"Profit or loss..." Andrew Leslie muttered under his breath. In his mind rose the territory that had grown so swiftly over the past year—territory that had become wholly Cecil's source of industrial raw materials. In his mind rose the astonishing wealth he had earned over that year, every gold and silver coin of it stamped with the Cecil mark. He was already regarded as the finest, most benevolent, most enlightened lord the Leslie family had ever known; his people praised him, praised him for his unwavering enforcement of Cecil's laws...

He was about to become the governor of Tansang City, and as proof of his merit, a seat for the Leslie family would be kept forever in Tansang City's Council of State.

He believed that so long as the Leslie family never again did anything rebellious, so long as they were not excessively foolish, his descendants would enjoy vast wealth forever, wealth beyond imagining when set beside what they had held as lords of the land.

But they would also lose forever the power of life and death over their domain; they would even... have to submit to the administration of the Council of State.

Had this investment brought a profit, or a loss?

"A profit, of course," Andrew Leslie raised his head and smiled, his tone utterly without hesitation. "Of course I profited. And it could only be a profit."

The attendant's voice sounded from beyond the door: "Duke Gao Yang Cecil has arrived—"